“Lot of effort to get the girl,” Oakley said. “Hope you’re worth it.” He winked and followed Ghost and Paige, pulling the door to the house firmly shut behind him.
CHAPTER8
Kinley watched as Shane tore the top off the smoking bag and pulled the dark brown pouch out of it, setting the still smoking bag off to the side. Smoking—not steaming. The chemical pouch in the bottom of the bag produced a toxic smoke, but apparently it was perfectly fine to heat their “meals ready to eat” with.
“You’re sure these are okay to eat?” she asked.
“Oh yeah. These are downright gourmet compared to what we used to have.” He used a knife to cut the side off the pouch he held. “The trick is to cut along the length instead of ripping across the top. That way you don’t have to shove your hand into the pouch to get to the bottom of it.”
“This is my first MRE,” she said.
“What do you normally eat when you’re on digs?”
Heat crept up her neck and she lowered her gaze. “This is my first real trip to the field.”
“Really?”
Kinley nodded. “I’ve been on training trips, but they were to established sites—Egypt and Pompeii. My concentration has always been glyph translation, not the actual digging part. Honestly, the only reason I was invited on this trip is because I translated the Lago Azul text.”
She took the pouch and spoon he held out to her and poked at the food before taking a small bite of what she assumed was meat. Not bad. Saltier than she liked her food, but it wasn’t horrible even if it was unevenly heated through.
“Stir it around a bit,” Shane said, opening the other pouch.
She moved the food back and forth and took another bite. That was better. At least the cold spots and hot spots were mixed together.
Shane passed her a water bottle and held his up. “Here’s to your first real dig.”
“Thanks.” She tapped her bottle against his then guzzled half before she realized it. The food was really salty.
“What do you think?” he asked.
She shrugged. “It’s not bad.”
He grinned at her. “You can be honest.”
“Well, I wouldn’t eat it every day.” Poking at her food, she peeked at him through her lashes. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
She rested her arms on the edge of the table. “Why are you helping me? You barely know me, but you called your company and they’re expending all these resources to help me find a treasure that probably doesn’t even exist. Why?”
Shane flipped the spoon over in his mouth and slowly pulled it out. He probably wasn’t purposely trying to distract her from her question, but watching the plastic slide between his lips made her breath catch and her nipples pucker behind the thin shield of her bra.
“That’s a multipart answer,” he said.
“What?” She blinked.
“Why we’re helping you.” The twinkle in his eye told her he’d caught her ogling his mouth.
She cleared her throat and sipped her water. “Right. So why?”
“I’ve traveled all over the world. Every time I visit some historical landmark, I wonder what it must be like to be the person who discovered it. To be the first person to see something that hasn’t been seen for hundreds or thousands of years.”
Her inner nerd sighed with happiness. That was about the most perfect response, but it didn’t answer her question. “I understand that, but why are you helpingme?”
He leaned forward and stared directly into her eyes. “I don’t like people being taken advantage of, or attacked, or cheated out of something. You deserve the credit for this find.”
The intensity in his hazel, gold-flecked eyes was too much and she had to look away. “If we find it.”
